6,000 cops to be deployed for World Economic Forum

More than 6,000 police policemen will be deployed in Makati City and nearby areas as part of the security preparations for the World Economic Forum (WEF) that will be hosted by the Philippines next week.

Director General Alan Purisima, chief of the Philippine National Police (PNP), said next week will actually be a busy day for the police organization since aside form the WEF on East Asia meetings, two more international events will also be held on the same period, all of them in Makati City.

The WEF on East Asia is scheduled on May 21-23 but prior to that, Purisima said the Young Leaders’ Meeting will be held from May 19-20 and the 10th ASEAN Ministerial Meeting o May 21.

“We are expecting some 1,000 delegates from 40 countries, including 10 heads of economies to arrive here,” said Purisima of the three events.

Purisima said the police forces of the National Capital Region Police Office (NCRPO) will be reinforced of personnel from the Central Luzon and CALABARZON (Cavite, Laguna, Batangas, Rizal, Quezon) regional police offices.

Deputy Director General Leonardo Espina, designated commander of National Task Force WEF, said they started implementing security measures on Saturday.

“We are now in full implementation of all plans, monitoring, and continuous evaluation and assessment of the performance of security forces through daily briefing and review,” said Espina.

Based on the plan, the cops designated to secure WEF was divided into two areas of concentration: Task Force Manila which will focus the security operations in Metro Manila while the other one is Task Force Tourism which will take care of tourist spots that will be visited by the WEF delegates.

Espina said he had already instructed all units not involved in the WEF preparations to be vigilant and ready for any eventuality, as they will serve as back-up forces.

Purisima, for his part, said National Task Force WEF will coordinate with other government agencies that are involved in WEF activity like the Department of Finance and Department of Foreign Affairs.

Chief Supt. Reuben Theodore Sindac, chief police information officer, said they are also banking on the security measures implemented during the ASEANAPOL for the WEF.

The ASEANAPOL, which brought together chiefs of police in Southeast Asia, concluded on Thursday.

The security coverage for WEF, however, was expanded due to the number of delegates attending.